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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Tuscan Olive Burgers

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Every year, usually in May, I begin a whirlwind of kitchen activity that's triggered by the opening of the Build a Better Burger Contest. The economy and changes in advertising strategy rang the death knell for many of the big contests, but BBB is one of the few to survive with its award structure intact. Its $100K prize make it a plum for those who enjoy cooking competitions. While I've never won, I continue to try and went ahead and created two recipes for the contest this year, only to find that our revised holiday plans would have us out of the country at the time the contest would occur. I'm not really good about saving recipes for another day, so I though I'd share one of them with you today. Before I go into the multiple steps required to get this burger on the table, I want you to know that my favorite burger is simply dressed and charcoal broiled. Were it not for contests, I would never go through this rigmarole. While I may prefer my burgers naked, judges don't and that makes multi-step preparations a necessity for contests. If you analyze winning recipes, you can see the steps required to get to the competition. You'll need a sauce or spread for the rolls and layers of toppings that will make your well-seasoned burger unique. The folks at BBB maintain a huge database that you can scan for ideas if you are at all interested in entering the contest. I decided to make a Tuscan-style burger as my first entry this year. I had been working with tapenade and thought it would be a wonderful way to season my burgers. Once my theme was chosen, I rapidly moved through the toppings and spreads that I would use to accompany the patties. I decided to use a fennel-flavored mayonnaise and smoked cheese and proscuitto as toppers. To make the burgers even more singular, I made a fennel slaw to finish the package. In tonight's photo, I've used a simple olive salad in place of the fennel slaw. To be truthful, I had no fresh fennel in the house, so I took the line of least resistance and used olives which I have in abundance. This is a bold burger with strong flavors. If you like strongly flavored food, I think you'll love these. I have one caution to share with you. Be careful with the salt shaker. The tapenade and proscuitto are very salty and you won't need a lot of additional salt. Here's the recipe for those with adventuresome spirits.

Directions:1) Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.2) To make patties: Combine ground chuck with tapenade and black pepper, handling as little as possible. Shape into 6 bun-size patties. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.3) To make fennel mayonnaise: Combine ground fennel with mayonnaise. Mix well. Set aside.4) To make fennel slaw: Whisk together all ingredients except fennel. Trim fennel stalks flush with bulb, discarding stalks, and remove any discolored outer layers. Halve fennel through root end and discard core. Thinly slice fennel with a mandoline or other manual slicer. Toss fennel with enough dressing to coat, then season with salt and pepper.5) To grill: Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Place patties on rack, cover, and cook, turning once until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. Place cheese slices on patties about 3 minutes before grilling is complete. Place buns, cut side down on outer edges of rack to toast lightly during last 2 minutes of grilling.6) To assemble burgers. Spread top and bottom of burger buns with fennel mayonnaise. Cover bottom half of each bun with a lettuce leaf. Cover with a patty. Top each patty with two slices of warm proscuitto and about 2 tablespoons of fennel slaw. Add bun tops and serve. Yield: 6 burgers.

I shall suggest that my husband try your burger. As for me, I am a hamburger purist. Good bun (not too thick) with a thin spread of yellow mustard on top and bottom, a perfect round of Vidalia onion and thinly sliced dill pickles. A garden salad on the side instead of fries.

I absolutely gotta print the recipe out and read it accurately on my way home. I love green tapenade (to be honest, I love black too!) and the rest of the ingredients put together makes this hamburger look like a piece of heaven. Have a nice day dear Mary. Big hug from Spain.

Oh Mary - I just love stopping by here, it's a little chunk of "me" time in an otherwise crazy season. My favorite part of this burger (which I dutifully printed to post on my refrigerator as a "to do") is the olive tapenade! I can't wait to have time to put it together! The OTHER serendipitous part of my quick stop by today is the "Lemony Buttermilk Squares" found at the bottom of the page. Lemony foods are my all time favorite - they cheer me up in dark times, brighten up even the happy times. THANK YOU!Shawna

This is gorgeous, and you have it perfectly centered on the lettuce border. At first glance I thought it was some kind of ham or prosciutto sandwich, then I had to back up and saw the burger under it, oh yum!!! I love burgers, but haven't made one in maybe 20 years, believe it or not. I've just gotten kind of afraid to handle it with a new food poisoning scare on ground beef every month or so.

I guess we have been on the Tuscan Olive connection this week! These burgers look wonderful, Mary! Nothing like a good juicy burger on good bread!

Also ... I have just posted a post for the Alice Waters tribute ... I can't access your email without doing something drastic with my email default settings ... perhaps, we can exchange email or you can email me from my profile ... boy, sometimes, I feel so NOT techno savvy!

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